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Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Blog Tour: The Long Way Home by Katie McGarry @KatieMcGarry @InkSlingerPR

The highly anticipated third book in Katie McGarry’s Thunder Road Series is finally here! LONG WAY HOME is a Young Adult Contemporary Romance being published by Harlequin Teen! Order your copy of the next book in this emotionally charged series, and don’t miss Violet and Chevy’s story! Check out all of the stops on this awesome tour and be sure to grab your copy today!

LONG WAY HOME Synopsis:

Seventeen-year-old Violet has always been expected to sit back and let the boys do all the saving.

It’s the code her father, a member of the Reign of Terror motorcycle club, raised her to live by. Yet when her dad is killed carrying out Terror business, Violet knows it’s up to her to do the saving. To protect herself, and her vulnerable younger brother, she needs to cut all ties with the club—including Chevy, the boy she’s known and loved her whole life.

But when a rival club comes after Violet, exposing old secrets and making new threats, she’s forced to question what she thought she knew about her father, the Reign of Terror, and what she thinks she wants. Which means re-evaluating everything: love, family, friends . . . and forgiveness.

Caught in the crosshairs between loyalty and freedom, Violet must decide whether old friends can be trusted—and if she’s strong enough to be the one person to save them all.

LONG WAY HOME Order Links:

"An intoxicating and unforgettable story that kept me glued to the page."

—Kami Garcia, #1 New York Times bestselling author, on Walk the Edge

Brooke's Review:

I am a true Katie McGarry fan. I love her writing and her characters. And her stories always, always pull at my heart strings and draw me right in. So this story was no exception. Except maybe it was. Because while I have loved the other books in this series, this is the one that truly hit home with me. There's always that one book in series that you get, and that gets to you. The one where the characters are just the right fit. I had this with McGarry's Pushing the Limits series when I read Take Me On. It was a book I could not put down and one that still haunts me, in a good way. Long Way Home has had this same effect on me. I will never let go of the characters because my connection with them made more sense than any book I've read in the last six months. This connection is hard to explain but it's definitely the reason I loved the book as much as I did.

I think my favorite thing about this book, besides the story line and how well it unfolds, is the fact that Violet and Chevy have a past. This past plays such a crucial role in who they are to each other. So much history between them causes so many more emotional ties. And their connection is like a taught wire ready to pop throughout the whole book.

One of the most intriguing things about McGarry's writing is her grittiness. There's this shear power her writing has to lay it all out on the line. It's raw and completely naked. She makes you feel every emotion her characters feel. And she paces the book so you are never bored. You're never wondering if you'll be left hanging or needing more. McGarry gives it to you every step of the way.

I will say Violet is my favorite female character McGarry has written to date. She's fiercely independent, or at least wants to be. She wants to be heard. I love this theme, it's empowering for girls to see such a figure in a book. A great role model for teens.

Overall, I think this will remain my favorite book in this series. I am not sure McGarry could top it for me. But I've been wrong about her before. Go read it. She does not disappoint.

Thank you Harlequin Teen for providing me a copy of this book to read and review.

Excerpt:

VIOLET

“Your
car’s broke.” Chevy glances in my direction again, and there’s a softness in
his eyes that I hate and love. It’s the same unguarded look as when we
whispered our most intimate thoughts into each other’s ears.

I
hold his gaze for as long as he can handle. “Thanks for the update, Captain
Obvious.”

Chevy
mimics tipping a hat that isn’t on his head. “My pleasure.”

The
right side of my mouth edges up. Damn him for being so charming.

“Stone,”
Chevy says. “Have you made big plans for tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow?”

“Violet
turns eighteen.”

Chevy
and I had so many plans for eighteen. Spent too many nights in each other’s
arms planning out how we were going to celebrate this year. Dinner out of
Snowflake. Prom. Laughter with friends. Midnight and dancing on a blanket in
our field.

“Mom’s
mad at Violet and she said we might not do anything because of Violet’s
attitude,” Brandon blurts out and he scratches his chin twice. “Violet cut
class and the school called Mom to tell her. Mom’s really angry. She yelled. A
lot. And Violet wouldn’t yell back. Violet always yells back, but not this
time.”

Chevy’s
adorable smile falls into a frown and it’s really a shame. Brandon looks over
at me for confirmation that I’m not mad at him for spilling about my fight with
Mom, because I’ve reminded him several times that personal conversations should
stay personal, and I step toward him then briefly squeeze my fingers around his
wrist.

My
brother isn’t trying to tattle, he’s nervous being out in the dark and upset
over the fight Mom and I had before we left for the game. He has a problem with
letting negative emotions go. They circle his brain like vultures do with
roadkill.

Headlights
shine in the distance, and my shoulders relax. Last thing I want to do is get
into a discussion with Chevy as to why I didn’t tell Mom that I handed Chevy my
note. This has been an awful day, and I’m ready to pull the covers over my head
and stay in bed for days, maybe weeks.

I
step out onto the road, and using the flashlight cell, wave to signal Mom. This
isn’t the first time Dad’s car has broken down, and unfortunately, it won’t be
the last. Mom has passed us before. Though I’m not convinced those times were a
mistake as much as Mom attempting to teach me another lesson of how unsafe I am
in the world.

Footsteps
against the rocks and Chevy eases beside me. The car weaves in and out of the
center lane, and my arm hesitates in the air as unease tiptoes through me.

Chevy
places his hand on my bicep and forces it down. “That’s not your mom’s car.”

It’s
not. Mom would never drive like that and those aren’t the headlights of a
minivan. Those belong to something with some muscle. A scary sixth sense creeps
along my skin.

Growling
engines, then three single beams appear. Motorcycles. Those motorcycles aren’t
chasing the car, they’re following. My stomach lurches as I stumble back. Chevy
steps forward and he draws his knife out of the sheath.

Katie McGarry Bio:
Katie McGarry was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. She is a lover of music, happy endings, reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan.
Katie is the author of full length YA novels, PUSHING THE LIMITS, DARE YOU TO, CRASH INTO YOU, TAKE ME ON, BREAKING THE RULES, NOWHERE BUT HERE and WALK THE EDGE and the e-novellas, CROSSING THE LINE and RED AT NIGHT. Her debut YA novel, PUSHING THE LIMITS was a 2012 Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction, a RT Magazine’s 2012 Reviewer’s Choice Awards Nominee for Young Adult Contemporary Novel, a double Rita Finalist, and a 2013 YALSA Top Ten Teen Pick. DARE YOU TO was also a Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction and won RT Magazine’s Reviewer’s Choice Best Book Award for Young Adult Contemporary fiction in 2013.